When I do assemblies and family night events, one of my main messages is about how important it is to read aloud every day. Hearing words, saying words. How can a child express language in speech or writing if they haven't experienced it fully to begin with? Laura Hillenbrand, author of Seabiscuit and Unbroken put it eloquently: “Good writing has a musical quality to it, a mathematical quality, a balance and a rhythm. You can feel that much better when it’s read aloud.”

Even snippets of prose or poetry read aloud on a regular basis can go a long way to giving young readers access to the beauty and power of language that they can apply in their own work in the future.

I just found out some exciting news! The New York Council for the Humanities is featuring my book, The Kite That Bridged Two Nations, in their Community Conversations for Kids program in partnership with the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission for the anniversary of the first bridge across the Niagara River Gorge. The council offers grants to schools, libraries and other non-profit organizations to host an event, plus a Community Conversations for Kids toolkit that focuses on the theme of friendship—between family members, neighbors, strangers, and nations. I just discovered that November was New York State History Month, so this pleased me immensely!

The room was crowded with teachers. Eureka! Award judges Lynda Griblin, Dr. Virginia Loh-Hagan and Lynn Gurnee pulled books out of boxes to display. They were about to announce the winners of the California Reading Association's 2104 Eureka! Nonfiction Children's Book Award. As I found a spot, there was a small buzz in the front of the room. "She's here! Where is it?" a judge whispered. Suddenly, all three judges pointed to me. "Did you know?" asked Lynda Griblin. "You won a Eureka! Honor Award." She held the book up high, the silver sticker catching the light. They beamed. I beamed. What a thrill to find out, there among teacher friends, about this and to also find out about other colleagues' books that were among the winners. Here's to CRA for recognizing the importance of nonfiction in the reading lives of children!

On October 3, I made two presentations at the Ventura County Office of Education's library conference - one on Narrative Nonficiton and the other on our vcrareading.org Author Visit Study. Participants entered their names into a drawing. The selection of winners was extremely scientific. Entry forms were folded and placed in the bucket. The bucket was overturned on my living room floor. Two cats (one was sleeping), Cookie and Ebony, were then released to choose the winning entries. Ebony Complained loudly that they needed to choose more than one winner. So they did. The following lucky people will be receiving the following prizes:

African Animals Project. Teacher Kristen Nordstrom begins mini lessons with her first graders on their African animal reports. Published author Alexis O'Neill visits to share her research and writing process. Students use a variety of sources to research their chosen animals. Students share drafts in small groups. Students read revisions. Final projects are placed on display.

On August 22, Kristen Nordstrom and I conducted a workshop for teachers in the Conejo Unified School District called, “Amazing Transformations: Helping Students Turn Informational Reports into Narrative Nonfiction” a blending of Common Core, common sense, and creativity into a successful approach to informational writing for grades 1-3.We showed how a published author (that would be me!) and a first grade teacher (that would be Kristen!) worked together to help kids as young as first grade make their reports “pop” using narrative techniques to engage readers. To see a short film about this featuring the young writers, go my blog post entry for July 14, 2014. (Also, Blog posts on 5/31/14 and 6/18/14 have additional information.

Here are samples of how her first graders incorporated rich language and images in the openings of their informational reports:

Animal Reports with Reader-Engaging OpeningsTopic Sentences with a TwistDIVING ELEPHANTSby ClaudiaElephants are scuba divers! They use their trunks as snorkels to breathe underwater. Elephants are also the biggest land animals in the world.﻿CHIMPS ARE AWESOME!by OliviaChimpanzees are very smart primates. Each night they build large nests in trees. These nests keep them safe from predators. Chimps are so smart they use tools to get food. They crush nuts with rocks and catch termites with sticks.RAIDING CHIMPSby LoganChimpanzees are strong apes. Do you know what they might do at night? Take over another chimp’s territory! Chimps get their community ready to raid the rival group.﻿Grab ‘em with a QuestionBIG ELEPHANTSby CamilaDo you know a cow that doesn’t moo and has gigantic ears? Give up? The answer is a female adult elephant. Females start to have calves when they are 12 years old, and are pregnant for 22 months.LIONS, LIONS, ROAR EVERYWHERE!by ChloeWhat African cat is a strong and brave hunter? Need another clue? This animal’s roar can be heard 5 miles away. It is an African Lion.COOL CHIMPSby BeauDid you know that chimps are very smart? They use tools to eat termites and large rocks to crush nuts. Chimps use their five-fingered toes and hands to eat, build nests, and climb trees.

Nonfiction Narrative OpeningSPEEDY CHEETAHby LucasOn the savanna in Africa, with tall yellow grass all around, one male cheetah is sprinting towards a gazelle. Suddenly, three fast male lions and two loud hyenas, sprint past the racing cheetah and catch the gazelle.

SPRINTING CHEETAHSby AvaA cheetah family, a mother and her cubs, are eating a freshly-caught gazelle in the hot African sun on the savanna. Suddenly, a big male lion comes up to the cheetahs and takes the gazelle they are eating. The cheetahs make a loud hiss and hump their backs aggressively, but the strong lion takes their food without a fight. Cheetahs are interesting animals to watch and learn about.

Have you ever hosted an author visit? If so, you know that something special and wonderful happens to the students as a result of that interaction. It might be increased interest in checking out library books, more willingness to write, validation that creativity is something to be celebrated . . . But is any of this measureable? I'm working with Jo Anne Pandey, Ph.D. of California State University Northridge on an author visit study -- the first of its kind. Would you be willing to help us by taking a very short survey? It will take you about 5 minutes to respond.CLICK HERE FOR THE SURVEYOur actual study is exploring whether an author visit can make a difference in students' attitudes toward reading, writing and revision. We conducted a study in spring of 2013 and hope to move forward with an expanded study in 2015. If you would like a copy of the pilot study results, contact me here.I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

]]>Tue, 15 Jul 2014 02:48:49 GMThttp://www.alexisoneill.com/blog/1st-graders-rock-african-animal-projectThe results are in! On May 31 and June 18, I wrote blog posts about a project that teacher Kristen Nordstrom and I did to see if 1st graders could integrate engaging narrative nonfiction elements into their reports on African Animals. Take a look at this short video, and you’ll get a taste of what they produced. And note that the filming/editing and directing of this clip was done by two 4th graders. Creative kids all around!

I'm polishing my traveling goggles for my drive across the desert to Las Vegas to the annual ALA (American Library Association) conference. I'm going to be signing my book, The Kite That Bridged Two Nations: Homan Walsh and the First Niagara Suspension Bridge, at the Boyds Mills /Calkins Creek booth 567-569 on Sunday, June 29, 2014 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Stop by! I have a brand new bookmark to give you for all those books you'll be collecting over the weekend. I also have a limited number of posters with an Educator's Guide on the back to hand out to the first folks who pick up a copy of my book. Be sure to say hi to my hard-working editor, Carolyn Yoder, and the super energetic manager of marketing and permissions, Kerry McManus, while you're there.

How do you move kids from research to writing straight informational text to adding narrative devices to enrich their writing? That's what Kristen Nordstrom and I will be showing at the California Reading and Literature Project's Summer Literacy Workshop at California Lutheran University on June 19 (tomorrow!). We'll be doing some hands-on with participants and sharing strategies for the writing process and classroom management used with first graders. We'll also show the kids' final results. If this can be done in first grade, it can be done in any grade! Stay tuned for a follow-up on this pairing of a children's author with a classroom teacher.

Hooray! Bank Street College’s Children’s Book Committee named my newest picture book for children, The Kite That Bridged Two Nations, to its prestigious Best Children’s Books of the Year list for readers ages 9-12. The Best Children’s Books of the Year, 2014 Edition includes more than 600 titles chosen by the Children’s Book Committee as the best of the best published in 2013. In choosing books for the annual list, committee members consider literary quality and excellence of presentation as well as the potential emotional impact of the books on young readers. Other criteria include credibility of characterization and plot, authenticity of time and place, age suitability, positive treatment of ethnic and religious differences, and the absence of stereotypes. Nonfiction titles are further evaluated for accuracy and clarity. It's one of the most comprehensive annotated book lists for children, aged infant-16. The Committee reviews over 6000 titles each year for accuracy and literary quality.For the full annotated list, go here: http://bankstreet.edu/center-childrens-literature/childrens-book-committee/best-books-year/best-books-year-2014/